A status check across various cities in the Asia-Pacific region reveals that some servers are currently under maintenance, including Jakarta, Dhaka, and Karachi. Other locations are operating normally. This maintenance may affect user experience; users are advised to check official announcements for updates.
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This article presents a method to simplify PostgreSQL database debugging using inheritance. By creating a common parent table with a serial ID and timestamp, all child tables inherit these columns, ensuring unique IDs across all tables and identical timestamps for data within the same transaction. A single SQL query then retrieves all IDs and their corresponding table names, while timestamps reveal insertion order and transaction relationships, significantly improving debugging efficiency.
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Nine years after Civ VI, Civilization VII is finally on the horizon! The minimum and recommended system requirements have been revealed. Minimum specs include an Intel i5-4690 or equivalent, 8GB RAM, a GTX 1050 or equivalent, and 20GB of storage. Recommended specs bump up to an Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, 16GB RAM, an RTX 2060 or equivalent. The article highlights that the game is CPU-heavy, making a CPU upgrade a priority for optimal performance. Are you ready to build your empire?
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The Trump administration cut off vital support for the jamming capabilities of Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets, jeopardizing a critical air countermeasure. However, Ukraine isn't defenseless. They can leverage the jamming capabilities of French Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters, along with promised upgrades to their electronic warfare systems, to compensate for the American shortfall. While not a long-term solution, it buys Ukraine valuable time until more sustainable alternatives can be found.
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The author reflects on what he'd do if he were 18 in 2016, arguing that traditional paths are obsolete and young people have unprecedented opportunities. He advises skipping college, focusing instead on learning coding, design, and marketing; building an online business generating $5,000/month; and practicing extreme frugality. Through online learning and low-cost living, young people can build financial freedom in a few years, investing consistently in ETFs for long-term wealth growth. Once financially secure, they can pursue passions freely.
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Argentine President Javier Milei's tweet endorsing a memecoin called Libra sent its market cap soaring to $4.4 billion before a dramatic 95%+ crash. Milei deleted the tweet, claiming unawareness of the project's details. Analysis suggests early investors manipulated liquidity pools to profit, resulting in $1.1 billion in trading volume but a heavily skewed buy/sell ratio. The incident also impacted other memecoins, with TRUMP losing $500 million in market cap in a short period.
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From cars and brands to film, grayscale and monochrome are dominating the world. This article explores the reasons behind this phenomenon, arguing it's not just about materials or fashion trends, but rooted in Western philosophy's long-standing devaluation of color. From Plato to Kant, reason was prioritized over senses, with color seen as sensory interference hindering the understanding of truth. Modernism further dismissed color as excessive ornamentation, pursuing pure form. However, the article argues this rejection of color ignores the harmonious unity of color and form, exemplified by the vibrant hues of Baroque art, where emotion and reason coexist. It's time to embrace color again, enriching our lives.
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Social media is abuzz with personality tests claiming to reveal insights into your character based on your initial perception of ambiguous images. Researchers investigated this, using classic ambiguous images (Duck-Rabbit, Rubin's Vase, Young-Old Woman, Horse-Seal) and personality questionnaires. Many social media claims proved unsubstantiated; for example, seeing the rabbit first didn't correlate with procrastination. However, intriguing associations emerged, such as lower optimism and emotional stability in those who saw the duck first. This study highlights the prevalence of psychological myths on social media while suggesting promising avenues for future research.
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Ronit Shah presents an improved algorithm for the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT). Traditionally, approximate QFT requires Θ(n log n) gates, and exact QFT requires Θ(n²) gates. The new algorithm, leveraging a novel recursive partitioning of qubits, reduces the cost of approximate QFT to Θ(n(log log n)²) gates and exact QFT to Θ(n(log n)²) gates. This breakthrough promises significant efficiency gains in quantum computation.
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This article details how the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, amassed a vast collection of ancient artifacts, including tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets from the lost city of Irisagrig. Driven by their faith, the Greens channeled their profits into evangelical missions, viewing artifact acquisition as a means to this end. The article explores their acquisition methods and the ensuing controversy surrounding the artifacts' provenance and legality, prompting reflection on the complex interplay between commercial interests, religious beliefs, and the preservation of cultural heritage.
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A researcher successfully recovered a working 1972 UNIX V2 beta system from magnetic tapes. This version differs from its predecessors in kernel size and a.out format support, considered an early beta of V2. While bootable on aap's PDP-11/20 emulator, it fails on others. Through a series of clever steps, the researcher created a bootable disk image and shared it publicly. This discovery provides invaluable material for researching the evolution of early UNIX systems.
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Brendan Carr's ascension to FCC chair signals significant regulatory changes for the tech and media industries. His involvement in Project 2025, proposing limitations on Section 230 immunity for tech companies and content prioritization disclosures, foreshadows a stricter regulatory environment. He also plans to leverage the FCC's power to revoke spectrum licenses for networks violating the equal time rule. However, Trump's shift on TikTok complicates Carr's approach to national security threats posed by the app. His success hinges on securing support from other Republican commissioners.
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A federal district court has ruled that backdoor searches of databases containing Americans' private communications, collected under Section 702, typically require a warrant. This landmark ruling, following over a decade of litigation, rejects the government's claim that such searches can be conducted warrantlessly. Organizations like the EFF have long argued this practice is unconstitutional, and the court's decision is a significant victory for privacy rights. The ruling calls for Congressional reform of Section 702 to prevent future abuses.
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The author envisions a future where AI agents are not mere docile tools but assertive representatives capable of pursuing his interests, even expressing 'anger.' Drawing parallels to powerful historical leaders, the author argues that anger can be a powerful tool for achieving goals. However, he also warns of the social risks of deploying such 'angry AI' on a massive scale, as anger can be misused. The article concludes with a thoughtful reflection on the future of AI and a plug for the author's startup, Subble.
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Malimite is an open-source iOS and macOS decompiler designed to help researchers analyze and decode IPA files and application bundles. Built on top of Ghidra, it directly supports Swift, Objective-C, and Apple resources. It's multi-platform (Mac, Windows, Linux), auto-decodes iOS resources, avoids lib code decompilation, reconstructs Swift classes, and even features built-in LLM method translation. A pre-compiled JAR file is available on the Releases page, with further installation and usage instructions in the Wiki.
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The Dyalog Ltd APL Challenge is on! Four rounds a year, each with ten problems running for three months. Win one of three $100 prizes! No prior programming experience needed; the problems teach you APL as you go. Even if you just want to learn about APL, register to stay updated on future rounds. Start your coding journey and compete for a chance to win!
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Researchers have developed Clean, an embedded domain-specific language (DSL) and formal verification framework in Lean4 for building zero-knowledge (ZK) circuits. ZK circuits are prone to bugs, and Clean aims to improve correctness by allowing users to define circuits in Lean4, specify their desired properties, and formally prove them. This project is part of the zkEVM Formal Verification Project, aiming to provide infrastructure and tooling for formal verification of zkEVMs. Clean supports four basic operations for defining circuits: witness, assert, lookup, and subcircuit, and offers a monadic interface for enhanced usability. At its core is the FormalCircuit structure, which tightly packages—in a dependently-typed way—the circuit definition, assumptions, specification, soundness, and completeness proofs. Large circuits can be formally verified by recursively replacing subcircuit constraints with their (formally verified) specifications. The framework has successfully verified simple circuits like 8-bit addition, with future plans to add more low-level gadgets, define common hash function circuits, and build a formally verified minimal VM for a subset of RISC-V.
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Berlin's ringberlin campus is set to house Europe's largest makerspace, a 17,000-square-meter collaborative hub for startups, SMEs, and creators. Operated by MotionLab.Berlin, a leading German hard-tech accelerator, the space will offer state-of-the-art workshops, coworking areas, and testing facilities. With over €60 million invested, including €36 million in regional economic development funds from the Berlin Senate, the makerspace aims to foster hard-tech and deep-tech innovation within a sustainable and collaborative environment. It's a flagship project of Berlin's Masterplan Industrial City, promoting circular economy principles.
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This essay uses the astonishing feats of pickpocket Apollo Robbins to illustrate the concept of 'base-rate blindness'. The author argues that we underestimate the probability of rare events because we tend to ignore base rates – the prior probability of an event. Using personal anecdotes, like a surprising moose encounter in Colorado, and the academic world's underestimation of deception, the author shows how ignoring base rates can lead to dangerous consequences. The essay concludes with a provocative question: Are we base-rate blind to the potential risks of AI, distracted by the hype and pleas for regulation?
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River Runner Global claims to possess revolutionary hydropower technology that generates electricity from natural river flow without needing large dams. The technology is purportedly low-cost and environmentally friendly, potentially providing clean energy to remote areas. However, details about the technology and its real-world effectiveness remain scarce, and its viability and commercial potential are yet to be proven. Nevertheless, its innovative concept has attracted industry attention.
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After years of searching, a blogger has successfully recovered and compiled photos and videos from Tasmania's LAN parties between the 1990s and the early 2000s. A total of 1584 photos and 2 videos document the early days of online gaming culture and technological advancements. This valuable archive is now publicly available on archive.org.
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Imagine a glamorous 1920s party hosted by the iconic Tamara de Lempicka. This article vividly portrays the era through descriptions of Lempicka's art and the party's attendees. From Lempicka herself, arriving in her green Bugatti, to fashionable flappers in loose dresses, a guitarist in a blue satin gown, gossiping ladies in red hats, and androgynous figures like the Duchess de la Salle, the piece captures the unique fashion, art, and social atmosphere of the 1920s. Lempicka's artistic style is woven into the narrative, highlighting her use of classical references and her distinctive portrayal of modern women.
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A couple shares their strategy for raising children with an analog childhood in a digital age. They created a curated playroom filled with books, board games, musical instruments, and other physical toys, minimizing screen time. Emphasis is placed on emotional security, autonomy, and attention span development, supported by clear house rules and consistent family involvement. This philosophy extends to their home design, with a retro color palette creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.
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Great Question, a seed-stage startup backed by Y Combinator and Funders Club, is hiring a Lead Product Designer. They're building an all-in-one customer research platform used by companies like Gusto, Experian, Canva, and Brex. The role requires 7-12 years of experience in software product design, with a focus on B2B SaaS and enterprise clients. The ideal candidate will be a strong leader with excellent UX design skills, capable of independently leading the design of complex product areas from conception to launch.
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Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin and John Ousterhout engaged in a spirited debate on software design principles, covering key topics such as method length, code comments, and Test-Driven Development (TDD). They fiercely debated the extent of code decomposition, the necessity of comments, and the pros and cons of TDD, using code examples and specific scenarios to support their arguments. This debate highlights the importance of trade-offs in software design and the need to avoid extremes when striving for conciseness and readability.
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A University of Chicago study reveals that California's 2020 wildfires negated nearly two decades of emission reduction efforts. The fires caused billions of dollars in economic losses and fatalities, significantly jeopardizing the state's climate goals. The study shows that a single year's wildfire emissions amounted to almost half of California's 2030 emission reduction target, highlighting the critical need for wildfire prevention in state climate policy.
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DeepSeek R1, a new class of reasoning models, tackles complex tasks using chain-of-thought (CoT) reasoning, albeit with a longer response time. These highly capable, distilled DeepSeek R1 models are now easily deployable on AMD Ryzen™ AI processors and Radeon™ graphics cards via LM Studio. The article provides a step-by-step guide to running various DeepSeek R1 distillations on different AMD hardware configurations, including recommended model sizes and quantization settings for optimal performance.
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This article unveils the groundbreaking contributions of Oliver Heaviside to transmission line theory. Starting as a humble telegraph operator, Heaviside, through self-study and a deep understanding of Maxwell's equations, solved the signal distortion problems plaguing telegraph technology. He corrected Thomson's model, incorporating inductance, and derived formulas for transmission line impedance and signal propagation speed. Heaviside's invention of Pupin coils, used to compensate for transmission line losses and improve signal quality, continues to impact modern communication technology.
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Jamsocket has released Learn Yjs, an interactive tutorial series teaching developers how to build real-time collaborative applications using the Yjs CRDT library. Starting with Yjs basics, it covers techniques for handling state in distributed applications, explaining CRDTs and their benefits. The tutorial features explorable demos and code exercises, powered by Y-Sweet, their open-source Yjs server, for a real-time collaborative experience.
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Bitwarden is enhancing security by implementing new device login protection starting February 2025. Users without two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled will be required to verify their logins on new devices with a one-time code sent to their registered email address after entering their master password. This added security measure protects accounts even if passwords are compromised. Users with 2FA, SSO logins, API key logins, or self-hosted instances are exempt.
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